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A Corvette Sting Ray Four-Seater?

11/8/2020

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​Corvette prototypes have taken countless forms over the years. Here’s a furtive attempt at a 1963 Sting Ray four-seater from GM Styling.

The Chevrolet Corvette story, which now spans eight decades, features a number of fascinating twists and turns along the way. Here’s one that, fortunately for the Corvette legacy—in our opinion, anyway—never got the green light for production: a four-seat version of the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray.
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​In Corvette lore, the executive responsible for the 2+2 Sting Ray (internal code name XP-796) was GM’s powerful car and truck boss, Ed Cole, who looked on in envy as the four-place Ford Thunderbird continued to rack up impressive sales figures year after year. Of course, the notion of a Corvette with a rear seat was not entirely original (read our feature on the 1956 Corvette Impala here) and in the Motor City, the traditional rule of thumb is that a two-seater is a niche product by definition, while a four-seat package has real volume potential. The ’63 Sting Ray redesign was an expensive and ambitious undertaking for Chevrolet, so we can understand Cole’s instinct for covering his bets.
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​While the GM styling crew led by Bill Mitchell reportedly hated the four-seat Sting Ray variant, they did an admirable job trying to make the proportions work out. In the photo at the top of this page, a careful camera angle nearly conceals the awkward stretch job, but a normal side view gives away the game: The chassis and the graceful Sting Ray profile have been stretched a good six inches to create a rear passenger area. And even so, the folding 2+2 seating (above) is probably even less comfortable than it looks.
The one-off prototype was shown to the company brass in around January of 1962 in the GM styling studios, parked next to a new Thunderbird to provide the obvious competitive benchmark. It was there, as the story goes, that GM president John F. Gordon was trying out the rear seat when a front seat latch jammed, trapping him inside. And although he was quickly rescued, that, they say, was pretty much the end of the four-seat Sting Ray project.
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Article courtesy of Mac's Motor City Garage.
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  • Home
  • News
  • Corkboard
  • Gallery
    • Ellerslie Classic Car Show - 14 February 2021
    • Waipu Classic Car & Bike Show - 7 February 2021
    • Kumeu Classic & Hot Rod Festival - 16 January 2021
    • Xmas @ Bridgewater - 13 December 2020
    • Toy Run - 7 December 2020
    • Piha Bowls - 15 November 2020
    • Bill Tweed shed raid - 25 October 2020
    • Te Aroha Cruise In - 3 October 2020
    • Caffiene & Gasolene - 27 September 2020
    • Packard Museum - 5 & 6th September 2020
    • Willow Glen& Ross Bros - 19 July 2020
    • Huljich Military Shed - 21 June 2020
    • Port Waikato run - 22 March 2020
  • Join us
  • Contact
  • Members only
    • Committee contact details
    • Members contact details
    • 2020 Annual Accounts
    • Club apparel & badges
    • Cruisepaper